Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire · Fractures and surface, flesh wounds
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at BME Fire Trucks, 4600 South Apple Street, BOISE, IDAHO 83716
on — Fractures and surface, flesh wounds , affecting the Other multiple ear(s), facial locations.
Final narrative
An employee was using a hydraulic tool to spread a large metal mounting bracket on an equipment box on a fire truck. Excessive pressure caused an explosion and metal struck the employee in the face. The employee was hospitalized with a broken nose and cheekbone as well as damage to one of his eyes.
Hospitalized Other multiple ear(s), facial locations Push-pull rams
An employee was conducting torching operations using oxygen and propane to cut metal beams within the recycling laydown area. The employee used a hose with an air chuck connection to fill up the yard pickup truck's back tire with oxygen. The tire blew up which caused the oxygen to ignite. The employee sustained fractures, internal injuries, burns, and lacerations.
An employee was replacing a tire on a wheelbarrow when the tire exploded. The employee sustained fractures to his right hand and an abrasion to the right side of his face. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery on his right hand.
An employee was checking the pressure gauge on a unit from a step stool. As he was stepping down, the ball valve ruptured and grazed the side of his left hand. The employee was hospitalized with an injury to the hand near the thumb and required surgery.
A mechanic was changing out an air spring on a concrete mixer truck cab. The air spring was receiving higher air pressure than it was designed to use, because of a faulty level check valve. This increased pressure caused the air spring to burst. Its top portion separated and struck the employee's left forearm, causing a laceration and fracture. The employee was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was hydro testing and pressurizing a pipe when it blew. The lid struck the employee, causing a gash to his elbow and injury to his abdominal area that required surgery.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 336112)
An employee was walking on the top deck of a fire truck that was being assembled. The employee lost their balance and stepped on open, horizontally hinged doors, which could not support their weight. The employee fell 6 feet to the concrete floor and suffered fractures to their elbow and pelvis.
An employee was assessing an overhead stamping press door for alignment issues when the counterbalance moved and their left thumb was caught between the chain and the sprocket. The thumb was amputated. The door was locked out/tagged out at the time but gravitational pull was not controlled.
An employee was performing a bubble test (pressure test) on a pipeline to locate a leak when the joint elbow that was producing the leak detached and struck him. The employee sustained fractures to a rib and clavicle, as well as injuries to his spleen and lung.
An employee was installing a combat vehicle turbine engine to a dynamometer stand in a dynamometer test engine cell. While lining up the turbine engine to the stand, the employee's left arm was fractured between the engine and the face of the stand.
An employee was operating a forklift to retrieve a stack of empty containers from behind a weld cell. The forklift grabbed the stack. Then the forks tilted back, causing the top container to fall onto the forklift cage. The employee got off the forklift and went to pull the container down. The container fell on the employee's head and leg, resulting in a bump to the head and a fractured right leg.
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
An employee was standing on a multi-purpose ladder installing head flashing over a window. Their feet were approximately 6 feet off the ground and three rungs from the top. The employee lost their grip on the drill they were using and the ladder tipped over. The employee fell from the ladder to the ground, resulting in a fractured left wrist, bruised chest, and lacerations to their face and lip.
An employee was inspecting the overhead area of a single-person lift and repositioning the lift through a double doorway. As they were transitioning through the doorway, they were caught between the doorframe and the vertical mast of the lift. The employee was hospitalized with injuries to the nose, left maxillary sinus, left orbital bone, and left jaw, with fractures at the maxillary sinus area.
An employee was loading a 4-inch wooden door into a pickup truck when he felt a pop in his right side behind his shoulder blade. He was hospitalized later that day and underwent surgery, having suffered a collapsed right lung.